Yet so Far
by Storm Elf
Summary: Sequel to So Close to a Heart but you dont have to read it to understand this story.Sora finds Axel locked up in one of Xemnas's cells and rescues him, much to Riku's distaste. Slowly, he learns more about Axel, and more about Roxas.
1. Chapter 1

Sora stood at the top of the stairs looking downward into the dark spiral of stairs that went down into one of the darker parts of the castle. Riku stood next to him, putting his hand on Sora's shoulder. It had been over a week since they had defeated Xemnas. Every day since then they had been exploring the castle to insure that all traces of the organization and their plans. With the discovery of every new room Sora began to wonder if they would ever finish. With untold numbers of upstairs floor already accounted for, now it was time to dive downwards.

"Come on, the sooner we get this finished the sooner we can move on with our lives." Riku reminded him, handing the lantern to his friend.

The pair of them descended the spiraling stairs. Halfway down they began to feel dizzy, but they kept going. The smell of mold and mildew got stronger as they got farther down. As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Riku began to feel along the sides of the walls, searching for a light switch. After hitting nothing but wet stone, he gave up, returning to Sora's side.

"This place is creepy," Riku noted, voicing the thoughts that were running through both of their minds. Sora nodded.

"Yeah…" Sora said quietly as though something would attack them if they made too much noise. He held the lantern high in the air as they walked deeper into the underbelly of the castle. Their eyes kept moving around the hallway, jumping at every shadow, expecting it to be a heartless ready to spring. "And this place is like a maze."

"We better be careful not to get lost," Riku agreed, looking left and right. Two hallways stretched out farther than the light reached. He moved even closer to Sora so that their shoulders touched. Sora nodded and wrapped his arm around Riku's, making the older boy blush.

They turned down one of the hallways and walked along it until they reached a large metal door. There was a small opening at the top of the door with vertical bars. Sora pressed his face up to the bars, ignoring the smells that drifted out of the room. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything inside. After exchanging the glance with Riku, Sora tried the door only to find that it was locked.

"Stand back," Sora warned, taking a step away from the door and materializing the keyblade. A solid beam of light came from the end of the keyblade and into the lock. After a moment, he lowered the keyblade and the door swung open.

The room on the other side of the door was similar to the one they were standing in at the moment. The floors were the same stones that were slippery because of a small amount of algae on them. The walls were the same with one major difference. Sticking out five feet from the wall was a row of vertical bars with a few horizontal bars across them.

"It's a prison…" Riku said aloud, keeping close to Sora as they keyblader as he slipped into the room.

A crash echoed around the small room, making both Riku and Sora jump. The crash was followed with a low moan. Sora and Riku looked at one another, surprised that there was someone still down here.

"Hello?" Sora called out, jumping at the sound of his own echo, "is there anyone down here?"

"Over here," a voice responded, sounding like they had just been woken up from a good dream and was not happy about it.

Sora took the lead, heading towards the corner of the room that the voice had come from, keeping the lantern close to his body. As he reached the rusted bars he pushed the lantern into the bars, trying to see just who was inside. A hooded figure moved inside the cell, lifting his head enough to look at Sora.

"Roxas?" He asked, sounding hopeful.

"Sora," Riku corrected.

"Ah, that makes sense. Good to see you again, Sora, how about you get me out of here?" The figure stepped up to the bars, removing his hood.

"Axel!" Sora laughed, embarrassed at being scared of him. "What happened."

"Apparently Xemnas gets pissy if you betray the organization. They found me after I saved your life. Since I didn't have enough energy to get away, they decided to give me a life time stay in this luxury resort you see me in now. So, how about using that pretty little key there to get me the fuck outa here?" Axel stepped forward, slipping his arms through the door and resting his elbows on the horizontal bar.

"I don't know if we should," Riku said, realizing that Axel had forgotten that he was there, "He is part of the organization you know."

"Judging by the fact that you two are down here on your own free will and not being thrown in a cell, I'd say that the organization is a thing of the past right?" Axel noted, "Suits me just fine, they weren't worth the effort of talking to."

"As long as there is one member left, the organization is a threat," Riku corrected, almost growling at Axel.

"Sora," Axel turned away from Riku, rolling his eyes, waiting for a response.

Sora looked back and forth between the two trying to decide what to do. He didn't think that Axel was a threat, he had betrayed the organization to help him, but that didn't prove that he wouldn't turn around and betray Sora as well. Still, he couldn't leave him down here.

"Riku, go upstairs and get the king, he'll know what to do." Sora said after some time. Riku nodded and hurried off, taking the lantern with him. Axel watched him leave with the strangest look on his face. He had never seen any man be so obedient, almost like a well trained dog.

"Is he house broken?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"huh?" Sora tilted his head to the side, not understanding what Axel meant.

"Nevermind," Axel smiled. Sora reminded him so much of Roxas. They could both be so clueless at time. "So, to what pleasure do I owe this visit?"

"Huh?" Sora asked again.

"Why are you here?" He clarified. Perhaps there were some differences between them.

"Oh! Well, we defeated Xemnas and now we are searching the castle to make sure that there isn't any traces of Organization XII left." Sora explained, looking into the darkness. He wished that Riku hadn't taken the lantern with him. "Hey, Axel, why don't you just make a dark portal to get out of here?"

"If I could do that, do you seriously think that I would still be in here? I haven't been able to make one since that one I opened that one for you."

"Oh," Sora looked down at his feet, realizing how dumb his question had been and feeling guilty.

"Hey, Sora, don't feel bad, okay?" Axel smiled, reaching farther through the bars to lift Sora's chin. His eyes met with Sora's and an electric shock ran down Axel's spine. They were just like Roxas's. They were as blue as two gems and twice as beautiful.

"Axel…" Sora whispered. That voice, it sounded just the same as if Roxas had said it. Axel was so close to Sora, who looked and sounded so much like Roxas. His hand still touched Sora's face, that soft smooth skin felt just like Roxas's. The only difference was the hair. Roxas's hair was a soft dirty-blonde halo around his head. Sora looked like the movie "Attack of the Brown Spikes" was being filmed on top of his head.

"Hey, Sora!" Riku's voice rang through the room as he swung the door open. Axel yanked his hand back, looking away from Sora.

"So, what is going on here?" Mickey asked, stepping out from behind Riku.

"Um…well…" Sora stammered, still flustered by Axel's behavior.

"I was part of the organization, but obviously since they locked me up, things didn't go so well. I saved Sora once, which is what got me locked up in here, so he feels like he should help me get out of here. The silver haired guy, on the other hand, wants to gut me." Axel took advantage of the situation, using it to put his own spin on the situation.

"Hmmm," the king leaned back for a moment, thinking things over, "Well, you were part of the organization, so we cant just let you go, but we cant leave you down here to die either. We'll let you out of here, but we'll have to keep you under constant surveillance until we know that you aren't going to try anything."

"Out of one prison and into another, right?" Axel confirmed.

"Only until we know that you are innocent." Mickey explained, materializing his keyblade and pointing it towards the door. As soon as he finished opening the door, Axel rushed out, glad to be out of the cell. Riku grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and shoved him towards the door.

"Don't forget, your still a prisoner!" Riku barked, poking him in the back with his keyblade. Axel was tempted to turn around and smack him, but he knew that Sora liked the silver haired man, so he had to be nice to him.


	2. Chapter 2

Before long, Axel found himself shoved in the back of the gummi ship. There was not enough room for the three of them to fit in the cockpit so Axel found himself sitting in the cargo bay looking at the four bare walls and wondering what they would look like splattered with his vomit. If he had had anything to eat in the past week, he knew that he would find out exactly what it would look like and he doubted that he would like it.

"Damn it Sora! Who the hell taught you how to fly this thing? A crash test dummy?" he yelled out, not knowing or caring of they could hear him or not.

Glancing around, he found a bucket in one of the corners. He lashed out and grabbed it, wrapping his arms around it, holding it just under his chin. He doubted that he had anything to get rid of, but with the way Sora was flying he couldn't be too sure.

By the time the ship began to land, Axel was ready to kiss the ground, so thankful that the flight from hell was over. He honestly had no idea how Sora could manage to fly like that without making himself sick. Maybe he had an iron stomach, or perhaps he just didn't eat before the flew. Either way, Axel made a mental note to never do that ever again. He sighed deeply and leaned against one of the walls, thankful that the trip was over.

When the door opened Axel was disappointed to find that the wall he had been leaning on was not actually a wall, but the door. He laid on the floor for a moment, dazed and confused. Looking up he saw what he assumed was the ceiling. From somewhere near by he could hear the mouse talking to someone, no, two people with squeaky voices. Riku stood over him, sneering, and Sora looked down at him with pity. Axel rolled over on his side, freezing up as the world began to spin with him. Once it steadied its self, he stood up only to find that his knees did not want to work.

"Axel!" Sora called out, grabbing his elbow to keep him from falling, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…or at least I will be…I hope" Axel moaned, trying to stand up again. This time he was met with better success. "I've been in that tiny cell for the past few weeks, not to mention I haven't eaten in…well, at least a week."

"I'll have someone get you some food," Sora said quickly. He tried to run off but Axel grabbed his shoulder.

"No, not yet." He tried to think up a good excuse, not wanting to tell Sora that his driving had given him and upset stomach. He stood up a little straighter, fully recovered from the fall out of the gummi ship. "Before I worry about anything else, I would absolutely love a hot bath."

"Good," Riku remarked, wrinkling up his nose, "You need one!"

"If you had been locked down there you wouldn't smell too great either you know." Axel shot back.

"There might be a slight problem with that," Mickey said, overhearing the conversation.

After an hour of waiting, Axel began to wonder if he would ever get to clean himself up. When they had said constant surveillance, they had meant constant. He was not even allowed to do this alone. While they did say that he could have a shower curtain, they still wanted someone in the room. When Mickey asked who it was going to be no hands flew into the air. Thankfully, Sora had eventually volunteered himself for the position, much to Axel's relief.

"There is still one last matter that has to be taken care of," Mickey said, making Axel groan. He only wanted to get clean, to wash away the grime from the cell, how could it possibly be that difficult. "After you get out, you are going to need some new clothes. If we take the measurements beforehand, they should be able to finish them by the time you are done."

"Okay, if it is that simple, lets get moving." Axel growled, growing more impatient. He knew that he was getting treated pretty good for a prisoner, but that still didn't change the fact that this was far more complicated than it should have been. On the upside though, his stomach had settled down.

Sora and them took Axel to a room where three round old ladies, wands in hand, waited for them. Two of them looked him over while the third one seemed to take charge.

"If we are going to get accurate measurements, your going to have to take off that black robe." The third one said, picking up the hood of Axel's robe to demonstrate her point.

"Yeah, that's not happening," Axel said flatly.

"Oh come now, it isn't like we haven't seen men in their boxers before, so off with the robe" one of the round ladies said pleasantly.

"That's not the problem. Under this robe is me, nothing else," Axel fought to keep from blushing. He didn't care if these three old ladies found out that he was naked under the robe, but Sora was different, though he could not explain why.

"Oh dear, now that is a problem," the other old lady said, moving to the opposite side of him.

"Well," the third lady, the one who seemed to be in charge, said, looking around the room, "We can always have him wrap a towel around his waist if he is that embarrassed. We could still get accurate measurements."

"Fine, anything, I just want to take a shower." Axel groaned, looking around the room for a towel and somewhere to change. One of the ladies pointed to a curtain set aside for people to change behind. Within moments he was back out in front of them, towel tied around his waist.

"Oh my, he is a skinny one," one of the ladies remarked, wrapping the cold measuring tape around his waist. He tensed up as the cold plastic touched him, but he didn't utter a sound. As soon as they were finished, he pulled his back robe back on and waited to be led to the bathroom.

For all of the effort that it took to get there, the bathroom was unimpressive. It was small with hardly enough room for one person, let alone two people. To Axel though it was more beautiful than any room he had ever been in. The only thing that bothered him about it was that everything, the walls, the floor, the sink, the toilet, they were all white. He had had more than enough of white, but he wasn't going to complain.

He moved over towards the tub, hearing Sora close the door behind him. He turned the knob for hot all the way up and never touched the one for cold. He still hated cold water. Without even checking to see if Sora was turned the other way, he dropped his black cloak to the ground, forgetting his former embarrassment at the idea of Sora seeing him naked.

As the warm water flowed over his body, he watched as it turned a disgusting color of brown before disappearing down the drain. He felt like a little child playing in the tub, but the hot water just felt so good on his skin. After several minutes, he plugged up the drain, waiting for it to fill up around him.

Sora sat on the toilet just other side of the curtain, trying not to look at it and failing miserably. He knew that he couldn't see Axel through it, so there was no reason not to look at it, but he couldn't look away for some reason. There was something inside of him that he couldn't explain that seemed to almost force him to look at the curtain. He certainly didn't want to risk seeing Axel, but he still couldn't look away.

"So, you and Riku were exploring the castle, right?" Axel asked, dunking his long red hair into the water behind him. "You didn't happen to find a room with fish in it, did you?"

"Yeah," Sora said, trying not to sound awkward even though he was talking to someone taking a bath, "But they were all dead."

"Oh…" Axel whispered, looking down at the water in front of him. He couldn't help but picture Demyx's smiling face staring back up at him. He never thought that he would be sad to think that Demx was gone, or that his fish were dead for that matter. It was a little hard for him to believe, especially since Demyx had done so much for him.

Sora sat there for a moment, not sure if it would be more awkward to talk or sit there in silence listening to the water slosh back and forth as Axel cleaned himself. He had the perfect opportunity to continue on the conversation, but he want sure if he could bring himself to talk.

"The room with the fish in it belong to Demyx," Axel said, deciding to carry on the conversation himself since Sora didn't seem to be doing it, "I took care of them after he died."

'after I killed him you mean' Sora thought to himself. He knew that Axel had to know exactly what happened to his friends, but he didn't want to bring it up.

"He and I didn't get along, hell, even if he was still alive I doubt I'd even want to see him right now, but he did do a lot of stuff for me." Axel said, splashing some of the water over his head, looking around for the shampoo. "He and I were always getting in fights, I normally won because he sucks at fighting, well, you should know that."

"Yeah…" Sora muttered, feeling guilty about his actions.

"He wasn't as bad as Siax though, that guy was nuts. He kept wondering why I kept shooting fireballs at his face, there is a target right between his eyes. It was the perfect thing to use for target practice. He had a tendency to dogde though, so more than a few of Marluxia's plants had a few scorch marks on them, it wasn't my fault though."

Sora nodded, not that he thought that Axel could see him. He listened as Axel continued to talk about the organization. It painted the picture of a dysfunctional family. They were always fighting amongst themselves, but the moment there was an outside threat, they were always there for one another. He lost track of time, not realizing how long he had been in there, it seemed more natural now.

"Obviously, Xaldin was pissed, but Roxas managed to keep him busy long enough for me to get away. Roxas…" Axel stopped talking, looking down at his hands. He had tried not to talk about Roxas, especially not with Sora around. He didn't know if Sora wanted to hear about his other half.

"Yeah?" Sora urged him to go on. He knew very little about Roxas, other that that he was his nobody. Riku insisted that it didn't matter, but Sora wanted to know more.

"Roxas was…" Axel paused, trying to find the words. "He…he wasn't like the rest of them. Anyone else would stab you in the back, but not him. You remind me of him. He wasn't always nice and kind to everyone, but if you were his friend, he would stick with you until the end."

"Sounds like a nice guy," Sora said, sensing the hesitation in Axel's voice.

"Yeah, real nice" Axel felt like someone punched him in the gut. Images of Roxs's smile flashed in front of his eyes. He remembered how good it felt to have Roxas's body in his arms. His arms trembled, aching to hold him again.

**Well, you know the drill. If you liked it, review and tell me so. If you hated it...REVIEW AND TELL ME SO! (the negative comments show what i need to change, so i make more of a big deal about them)**


	3. Chapter 3

**An update? Really? Wow! I'm sorry that i didnt update last weekend, but i spent more time at work thatn i did at home, thats the problem with having two jobs... I barely got this weeks updates up!**

After finishing his bath, Axel was taken to the kitchen where he was allowed to eat his fill before going to his cell. The food was good, but not nearly as good as the food prepared by the dusks under Xemnas's control. He ate until his stomach hurt before allowing them to take him away.

Compared to his previous cell, this cell was nice. It was about twice the size of the other one, but there was one major complaint. The other one had been made of stone so it had several colors of grey. This cell was white all over with black bars. He just about screamed when he saw it. Riku's presence was what stopped him. He didn't want to show much emotion around the silver haired demon.

"Its almost time for lights out," the guard informed him as they locked the door, "so get comfortable quick."

Axel glanced around the inside of the room, taking in the surroundings. There was a bed in one corner, which was twice as large as his previous bed. There was a desk next to the bed with a clock, a lamp, and some paper on it. at the foot of his bed was a book case, some rather dull books filled the top shelf and the bottom two shelves were empty. Under the shelves there was a cabinet. He opened it up to find a few piles of clothes made just for him in record time. Apart from the clothes he was already wearing, he had three outfits and two pairs of pajamas. Unlike everything else in his room, they were not white. The black wasn't much better, but at least he was used to wearing back.

He picked out a pair of pajama pants, leaving the shirt where it was. After checking to see if the guard was willing to look away while he changed, which he wasn't, Axel changed clothes before slipping into bed. He was still thinking about Roxas even now.

On the other side of the bars, Riku stood looking into the cell. It wasn't that he didn't trust Axel himself, he just didn't trust his motives. He was too buddy-buddy with Sora for his liking, he had to be up to something. Sora might be willing to risk his life to become friends with the enemy, that was his business, but Riku was going to be more careful. He was going to keep an eye on Axel, just incase.

More importantly, he didn't trust the guard assigned to watch Axel. He had heard that this man had a reputation for falling asleep at his post. Five minutes after lights out, the guard was snoring loudly. He sighed deeply and pushed his own chair up to the bars. He could see Axel in the dim light that was kept going even after the lights were supposed to be out.

After an hour of watching Axel sleep, Riku was getting wrestles. He wanted something to happen. He knew that Axel was up to something, he was going to try something, the only question was when. A bit of movement caught his eye and Riku was alert again, watching Axel intently.

"Roxas…" the prisoner mumbled, rolling over so that he was facing Riku. Much to Riku's disappointment, Axel didn't do anything else.

Inside the cell, Axel laid there wide awake. His had been dreaming about Roxas and he doubted that he was going to be able to go back to sleep. In his dream, his mind had played back the bath that he had had earlier that day with some slight changes. In his dream, it was Roxas watching him instead of Sora, and Sora defiantly had not climbed in the tub with him. He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind, but he couldn't stop from picturing Roxas there. He was grateful for the low lighting in the cell, otherwise Riku would have seen a deep blush on his face.

Alex rolled over again, now facing away from Riku. His mind was still fixated on the dream, picturing Roxas. There was no way that he was going to be able to sleep. Confident that Riku could not see him, Axel slid his hand under the sheets.

Riku watched Axel roll over again, now facing away from the bars. He wondered what he was doing, but it didn't look like anything suspicious, so he decided that it wasn't worth the work to find out. The lack of sleep had overtaken Riku. He was sound asleep before he even realized that he was tired.

The next morning, Sora came down to bring Axel his breakfast and found Riku sleeping in the chair. Axel, on the other hand, was wide awake and fully dressed, sitting on the bed and waiting for something to happen. Sora smiled as he opened up the door and walked into the cell, not bothering to close the door behind him. He knew that Riku would have a fit about if he woke up, but he found it so hard to think of Axel as a prisoner. He handed the tray to the nobody and sat down at the desk, watching Axel look down at the food.

"Is it good?" Axel asked, sniffing it before he dared to put it in his mouth. He had learned the hard way that some people could cook amazing things without even using a measuring cup. He had also learned that far too many people could not make something eatable to save their lives, even with the help of a cook book, measuring cups, and a personal chief helping them.

"Its alright," Sora shrugged. He preferred the food on Destiny Island, but the food at the castle wasn't bad.

Axel took a bite and nodded in agreement. Just like his dinner, it was indeed eatable, but not nearly as good as the food that the dusks had made for him back in the castle. Even if their heads looked like coat sleeves, they were good at following directions.

After that day, Axel's life fell into a routine. Every morning Sora would come down and bring him breakfast. Riku would wake up and sneer at the pair of them before storming off. After a week, Riku stopped coming to sleep in the chair. Afterwards, Axel would be left alone until someone brought him lunch. Every once in a while someone would come down and interrogate him about the organization.

After lunch, there was very little to do until dinner time. Sora would usually bring down his dinner and eat with him, staying an hour or two after they finished. They never talked about anything important, just useless things. Sora kept him updated on everything going on in the castle, including Axel's greatest interest, what Riku was up to.

Fridays were the only break to the routine. Fridays were bath day. At first, Axel had been enraged to learn that he would only get to bathe himself once a week, but he had gotten used to it. He was still not allowed to be alone and Sora was still the one who stayed with him. The awkwardness of the situation had begun to slip away, now they talked without even thinking about what Axel was doing on the other side of the curtain.

"So anyway, I shot a little fire at Siax, the man has a target on his forehead for crying out loud. He dodged and it hit Marluxia's rosebush. He was about ready to kill me. He went to Xemnas and he forced me to fix the damage. Soon as Marluxia died, I burned the whole thing to the ground!" Axel cackled, sounding as evil as he could, "why do you ask?"

"Um, Mickey just mentioned something about trying to give you something to do in the castle, working in the gardens was one of the ideas." Sora laughed for a moment, imagining Axel smiling and planting some pink flowers, "I guess that's not a good idea."

"Hell no. I'll do anything, but I'm not getting near another plant unless I plan on eating it!" He smirked, not that Sora could see him.

"The organization doesn't seem very organized at all." Sora laughed, "It sounds more like Xemnas was babysitting everyone."

"Wouldn't be too far off." Axel smiled. "We might not have been organized, but I wouldn't chance a moment of it.

"Tell me more about the organization." Sora could tell that he had found something that Axel enjoyed talking about.

"Alright," Axel's smile grew as he began to talk about the different members, starting with Xemnas and working his way down to Demyx. He talked so long that the water began to grow cold. Even if Siax was an asshole who couldn't take anything serious and joked around right up until his death, even if Xaldin was insane and Marluxia was half retarded, he still missed them.He stopped when he got to number XIII, Roxas. It was hard enough not to think about him with Sora so close. They looked so much like one another, except for that damn hair.

"The water is cold," Axel announced standing up. He reached out from behind the curtain, waiting for Roxas to supply him with a towel.

"I want to hear about Roxas." Sora pleaded, handing him the towel and turning around to give him some form of privacy.

"Maybe next time." Axel muttered, no intent on ever talking to Sora about Roxas.

Neither of them talked as they walked back to his cell. Axel stayed a few steps behind Sora, all the time thinking about Roxas. They reached the prison and Axel stepped inside, waiting for Sora to close the door.

"Hey, Sora," Axel spoke up as Sora turned the key to lock him in, "You would have liked Roxas, you are a lot like him."

Axel stepped closer, reaching through the bars and placing his hand on top of Sora's. The younger boy froze, looking up at him. His hear pounded as he found himself stepping closer to the bars. Axel reached his other hand through, cupping Sora's cheek. He pulled the boy's face closer, bending down some to make up for the height difference. They were so close before Sora even realized what was happening. He could feel Axel's warm breath on his cheek, drawing him even closer. Sora closed his eyes, waiting for the distance between them to shrink even more.

"Hey, Sora!" A voice called as the door swung open. Axel jerked away, yanking his hands back through the bars and turning around so that he no longer was facing Sora. Behind him, Riku told Sora about some amazing thing that was happening in the garden, something he absolutely had to see for himself. Axel breathed a sigh of relief, Riku hadn't seen what they were about to do.

As the pair left the room, Axel went over and sat himself down on the bed, his head in his arms. He had almost kissed Sora, he had let his thoughts about Roxas get the better of him. He had to remind himself, no matter how much they were alike, Sora was not Roxas. He had to keep himself away from the innocent boy, but that would be harder now than ever before.

**Just so everyone knows, I created another story, which has nothing to do with this one. It is named "A Method to the Madness". It follows Roxas's stay at a home for the mentaly ill. I did it to help myself better understand the different disorders that we are studying in collage at the moment, so there is probably a lot more psychobabble thrown in than in most fanfics of that nature. On the up side though, all disorders are potrayed true to life, more so than in most others anyway. Check it out if you are bored, but be careful, you might learn something!**


	4. Chapter 4

Axel was startled in the middle of the night by two hands gripping his shoulders, forcing him deeper into the bed. His eyes shot open, spotting his assailant. Riku stood over him, muscles tense, his hair falling down in his face. Axel forced the shocked look off of his face, turning neutral.

"You keep the fuck away from Sora!" Riku hissed, squeezing harder to make his point.

"So you did see then," Axel noted, twisting his face into a smirk, remembering the near kiss.

"You just keep away." Riku growled back at him, shoving him down one final time before turning away, planning on storming out of the room.

In a flash, Axel's hand was around Riku's wrist, holding him back. He pulled himself up, leaning in next to Riku's ear. "If you are getting possessive of him, you better at least give him some warning, lest he fall for someone else."

Riku spun around, smacking Axel as hard as he could with the back of his hand and preparing to get in a fist fight, but Axel did nothing but sit there, smirking at him.

"If I had any interest in Sora, I would have him by now, got it memorized?" Axel laughed, releasing Riku's wrist. The silver haired man looked at him for a moment, studying his face. He could see nothing past the cocky smile.

Riku turned and stormed out, he didn't have to take this from a prisoner. He slammed the cell door behind him, causing the guard to jump. He still couldn't understand how that man kept his job, he did nothing but sleep all night long while he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the prisoner.

He stormed up the stairs, glaring at the few people he passed on the way up to a room that was kept locked at all time. He needed to kill something, even if it was just a weak shadow heartless. He unlocked it using his keyblade. King Mickey had made this room just for him and Sora. Somehow, he had never figured out just how, the room was always filled to the brim with shadow heartless, occasionally something stronger would show up, but not often. It was the perfect place for him to take out some of his frustration.

Yellow eyes watched him from all corners of the room, waiting to spring. Riku walked farther into the room, yelling out challenges. Finally one shadow jumped forward. Riku swung his keyblade, killing it instantly. That was it. Other heartless poured from the darkened corners of the room, ready to avenge one of their own. Riku's ears filled with the cries of the weak heartless as they fell. His keyblade sliced through their tiny little bodies one after another. With ever fallen heartless, he wished that it had been Axel who was dying at his feet rather than a heartless.

It was only after he became exhausted that he raised his keyblade straight up, sending a beam of light up to the ceiling. A blast of cold air filled the room as a spell froze all of the heartless. Riku sighed, turning around and leaving the room. They would thaw out in an hour or so. He had to get some sleep before the sun came up.

He went to the bathroom that joined his room with Sora's. There had been a few heartless who had been able to get a good scratch on him. One had managed to get a hold of his arm and bite him. None of the injuries were serious, but he knew that he had to clean and bandage them to prevent infection.

"Shit!" Riku hissed. He had accidentally knocked over some bottles as he searched for what he needed. They were all closed, so there was no harm done, but he had made a good deal of noise.

"What's going on?" Sora muttered sleepily, opening the door on his side of the bathroom. He was in his pajamas and rubbing his eyes. Obviously Riku had woken him up, which was what he wanted to avoid doing. "Riku!" Sora shouted, now fully awake, "What happened?"

"Oh, this?" Riku gestured to the bite wound on his arm. It didn't hurt that bad, but it looked terrible, "I went into the heartless room for a bit and one of them decided that I looked like breakfast."

Sora rushed to the sink, almost crawling under it to get the things needed to clean the wound. When he got out he motioned for Riku to sit on the toilet while he cleaned him up.

"I wish you would be more careful." Sora said quietly, pouting some liquid onto a cotton ball. He had no idea just what the liquid was, the label had worn off long before he had gotten it, but he knew that it was more effective than anything else.

"Yeah, I guess I got distracted. I wont let hit happen again though." Riku joked as he watched the cotton ball with dread. It might be more effective than anything else, but it was also more painful.

"You better not!" Sora laughed, pressing the cotton ball into Riku's skin. Riku shut his eyes and bit his lip, trying not to scream.

Within a few minutes all the wounds were clean and bandaged. Although Riku suspected that Sora was sadistic because of how he cleaned the wounds, he would rather have Sora bandage him than anyone else. Now he looked at Sora, who was still inspecting his work. There was something special about him, there always had been. Even back to when they were kids meeting for the first time in the kindergarten classroom, there had been something special about him. After the incident with the darkness, Riku had assumed that the "something special" had been his heart. His heart obviously was special, it was able to wield the keyblade. Now though, he suspected that there was something else different about him. Obviously Axel could see it.

"All done!" Sora chirped happily, smiling up at him with those big blue eyes that could cut through Riku's tough shell. He wished more than anything to know why Sora affected him so much. Even looking at Sora made Riku want to be different. It made him want to be a better person. He wondered briefly if Sora had the same effect on Axel. He almost laughed at that. Axel was a nobody, there was no way he could feel.


	5. Chapter 5

Axel paced back and forth in his cell, hating himself for his former kindness. He had agreed to tell Sora all about Roxas during the next bath session. He had figured that it would be good, since it would be the only time they were alone and he didn't want the guards to know anything about him. They would use it against him next time he decided to throw books at the guards to pass the time. Now, so close to bath time, he wished that he had never agreed to do such a thing.

Thinking back on it, he could not think of a worse way to talk about Roxas. It was hard enough dealing with his "emotions" when he was fully clothed and not surrounded by steaming hot water. To make it worse, ever since their near kiss, Riku had made a point of being with Sora whenever he and Axel were together. He hoped that this would not include the bath, but he was not surprised when he saw Sora walk in the room with Riku in tow.

"No way in hell," Axel said the moment Sora got to the bars, his eyes fixed on Riku.

"Deal with it." Riku growled, locking eyes with Axel, trying to stare him down.

Axel grumbled as the three of them crammed into that tiny bathroom. He had tried everything to convince Riku that this was a bad idea, but the silver haired freak had refused to see the logic of the situation. He began to draw a bath but Riku's hand clamped down on his wrist.

"Take a shower, I want to get this over with quickly!" He growled.

"No! I only get one of these a week, I'll do whatever I damn well please!" Axel shot back, ripping his hand away from Rikus and continuing to draw the bath. Riku, sensing that there was no use in arguing, stayed silent. Sora was the next to talk.

"Hey, Axel, are you still going to tell me about Roxas?" He asked quietly, hoping that it wouldn't bring up another argument.

"No." Axel responded quickly.

"You said that you would!" Sora pleaded, trying not to sound like a spoiled child. "Why not?"

"Tell you what, if you get dip shit to leave the room, I'll tell you everything you want to know about Roxas, nobodies, hell, I'll even tell you what I found in Siax's diary, but only if Riku leaves."

"Forget it!" Riku barked back. Even without looking, Axel could tell that Sora was trying to calm him down and failing miserably. He could hear their hushed voices through the shower curtain as he enjoyed the feeling of the hot water on his skin.

"FINE!" Riku yelled, slamming the door dramatically. For a moment, Axel wondered if they were insulting his intelligence. He questioned if they honestly believed that he had been fooled by such a childish trick. Without even looking into the room he knew that Riku had not left. On the other hand though, it did present him with a very interesting situation. In order for them to pull off this stunt, Riku could not say a single word, no matter what Axel said.

"Why do you hang out with that asshole anyway?" Axel asked, testing the waters. "All he does is bitch and stink up the place."

"No he doesn't!" Sora shot back, making Axel almost want to squeal with delight. They really did think that Axel believed Riku had left.

"Anyway, now that the moron is gone, might as well talk about Roxas." Axel looked down at the bathwater. "Like I said, you are a lot like him."

Time passed by slowly. Each moment of it seemed to drag on longer than the last. Axel could tell that Sora was enjoying it, but each memory hurt worse than any wound. He told Sora everything, even the emotions that he had lied to hide their existence. If anyone deserved to know, Roxas did, but it was now impossible to tell Roxas how he felt. Sora was as close as he could come. Surprisingly, Riku kept silent the entire time. If he had not known that Riku was still in the room, he would have believed that he and Sora were alone.

Although he had thought that talking about it might help him get over some of it, it made it worse. It was like picking the scab off of his wound, making him bleed once more. By the end of it, he realized that his entire body was shaking, sending ripples through the lukewarm bath water.

"Hey, would you both do me a favor and leave for a minute…" Axel said weakly, trying to hold everything back for just a few minutes longer. "Yes Riku, I know you are there, I've known it all along."

"No way!" Riku shouted, happy that he could finally make his presence known again. "There is no way and no how we are leaving you in here unsupervised. If you have something to do, you do it with us in here!"

Axel sat there, trying to keep his body from shivering so much. He knew exactly what Riku thought the problem was and while he could very easily prove him wrong, he was glad that Riku did not know what was really bothering him. In all of his existence as a nobody, he had only cried once. Now he was about to make it two times, both for the same reason.

"Riku…" Sora pleaded, placing his hand on his friend's arm.

"No! I'm not leaving, no matter what!" Riku announced, stomping his foot to emphasize the point.

"Riku, please leave! I'll stay in here. You can wait right on the other side of the door if you want!" Sora tried again, this time more forcefully, "Just get out of here!"

Riku looked his best friend in the eyes, trying to read him. Within a moment, he looked away, defeated. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the door, closing it carefully behind him. Sora just stood there, surprised. He had expected Riku to get mad, maybe to shout at him, but he had never expected his friend to just turn and walk away without a fight.

"Axel," Sora whispered, still shocked by Riku's disappearance. "He's gone."

"I just want…to be alone for a few minutes." Axel muttered softly, not even checking to see if Riku had indeed left.

Sora opened the door and checked outside. Riku had left the area, not even checking to see if Sora kept his word by staying inside the room. He had doubted that Riku would even leave the room, but leaving the entire area was even more strange. Still, this bit of odd luck worked in his favor so he decided not to mention it.

Sora slid down to the floor, resting his back against the wall. He thought about Roxas, about the things that Axel had said, even thought he never came out and said them. All the things that he had alluded to, the slight mentioning of being calmer when he was in the same room as Roxas. It just reminded Sora of how he would describe Riku sometimes. By just being in the room, Riku made him feel safe. As long as his friend was there, nothing bad could ever happen to him. Seeing him smile made Sora's heart leap, more than it did when anyone else smiled.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he had no idea how much time had passed until the door behind him opened up and Axel stepped out, fully clothed and ready to return to his cell. Sora was unsure how to respond. It was strange to see Axel now, knowing so much about Roxas. Even without examining him, Sora could tell that he was hurting. He wanted to make it better, but he had no idea how. He thought about trying to talk to him, but he worried that that might make it even worse, since talking was technically how the entire problem came about.

As they reached the cell, Sora decided to try drastic measures. The guard, who was useless as always, was not even at his desk. There was no one around them. He knew that Riku would go out of his mind if he saw Sora do this, but he could not think of any better way to cheer Axel up. Without warning, he flung his arms around Axel's chest, pulling him close. Axel froze, not sure what to do, but it felt so good. Sora had a warmth about him, the same warmth that Roxas had had. The only difference was a strong thud that assaulted Axel's chest as Sora's heart beat strong.

Axel pulled back, making a small distance between them, getting that pounding away from his chest. He bent down, cupping Sora's cheek in his hand, pulling his face upwards. Without thinking, he leaned down, making contact with those soft lips. He worried that Sora would pull away, but he did not. Sora returned the kiss, deepening it.

From his clumsy style, Axel could tell that this was Sora's first kiss with a man, possibly his first kiss with anyone. Part of him felt guilty. Riku deserved that first kiss, not him, but he couldn't stop himself, not now. He couldn't remember how long they stayed like that, but it was over all too soon.

"Sora…" Axel whispered as they separated, "I want to…apologize for that."

"No, don't!" Sora pleaded, stepping closer. "Please, don't apologize."

"If you say so," Axel whispered, smiling as he took both of Sora's hands in his own. He had no right to apologize, there had been no excuse for what he had done. Even if Sora had no problem with it, it had still been wrong.

**There, they kissed, now half of the people reviewing will be happy, right? Maybe? Okay, guess not. Anyway though, don't forget to check out A Method to the Maddness. It might not have anything to do with this story, but I think it is pretty good. I've managed to update both stories every Friday for at least three weeks now, I'm very proud of myself for that. Hopefully this trend will continue at least until the end of this story (Which will be in about four or five chapters from now.)**


	6. Chapter 6

After that night, Sora began spending more time with Axel, sometimes asking the guard to leave when he did. Although Axel was reluctant to do more than sit and talk, Sora enjoyed every bit of time he could spend with him. He could not possibly understand why Axel was so standoffish, unless perhaps he still had feelings for Roxas and felt as though he was betraying those feelings.

He was careful not to let Riku find out, he knew how mad it would make him that Sora was doing something that he deemed to be unsafe, but he could not help but want to be with Axel. He had a feeling that Riku suspected something, but he had not brought it up. Before, Riku had refused to even let them be in the same room without his constant attention. Now he had backed off, not even going down to see Axel anymore and hardly talking to Sora. Instead, he had taken to spending long hours by himself, shut off to the rest of the world. At first Sora had tried to intervene, try to bring him out into the light, but the more he tried the more he became convinced that his friendship with Riku had come to an abrupt end.

He had tried to talk to Axel about it first, but he noticed that he acted strange whenever Riku's feelings toward Sora was mentioned. Sometimes Sora even wondered if there was something that Axel knew that he just wasn't telling him. Even if there was though, he didn't want to bug him about it for fear that he would get annoyed and start shutting Sora out, just like he had Riku.

Axel was hard enough to figure out even without that extra bit of complication. They had only kissed two more times, both of which Sora had to initiate. He couldn't understand why Axel was so reluctant to be with him even when he made it very clear that it made him happy. It was almost as though Axel wanted nothing to do with him, though he noticed that the moment they started he changed his mind. Axel would look at him differently, there was a special warmth in his eyes that had not been there before.

"Just give me one reason why not?" Sora bugged him, scotching closer to him on the bed.

"Give me one reason why we should!" Axel countered, standing up to get away from Sora.

"Fine! Because I like the way it feels, I like kissing you, is that wrong or something?" Sora asked, also standing up. He moved over to Axel, grabbing his wrist so that the taller man could not get away. "I like the way you feel."

Axel bit his lip, trying not to think of Roxas. He had to remember that this was Sora, but he was so close and so warm. The firm grip around his wrist made him want to melt. Those were Roxas's hands. By rights, it was Roxas's body, just Sora's heart. The moment Sora reached up and touched his face, he knew that the struggle was over.

They kissed, just as they had done before, but there was more to it. Each kiss had been more heated than the last. This one was almost on fire. As much as he wanted to push Sora away, that was also how much he wanted him to stay. Axel jumped at the touch of Sora's hand on his bare stomach, he had not realized that Sora had reached under his shirt like that. He knew that it was wrong, it should have been Riku's stomach that Sora's hand was on, not his, but he was powerless to stop it. Each moment was draining away his restraint, zapping his willpower.

Sora moved even closer, trying to lift Axel's shirt up more, possibly even slip it off over his head. Even Axel was surprised when he succeeded, leaving the taller man standing half naked in the room. Sora's hands now went to work, exploring the new bit of territory. He moved in closer, kissing Axel again. Their chests touched. Sora's heart pounded, making Axel pull away.

"Sora…you should leave now." Axel muttered, trying to get rid of that feeling. That pounding was the only thing that separated Sora from Roxas. Each time he felt it, it was as if someone had just shot him in the heart, or where his heart should have been.

Axel watched him leave, breathing a sigh of relief but suddenly missing the closeness. He almost hated Sora for what he had done, but he knew that it was not the boy's fault. Every moment with him was torture. He looked so much like Roxas, sounded like him, acted like him. The boy even felt like Roxas. As he understood it, Sora believed that Axel had feelings for him, he could not break the boy's heart by telling him the truth. There had been many times when he thought about taking advantage of those feelings, allowing himself some pleasure that did not involve his own hand, but he refused to hurt Sora in that way. He knew how much it hurt to have someone you love taken away, it would be worse to find that they never loved you in the first place.

Even if he had wanted Sora simply for his body, he knew that he could not do that. Everyone except for Sora knew that Riku had feelings for him. Sora thought that they were simply friends, but, as everyone knew, Sora was oblivious when it came to most things. The boy could swing a keyblade like nothing, but when it came to anything else in life, he had gotten the short end of the stick. At least Roxas had been more observant.

What he hated more than anything was the time after Sora left, when he was alone to think about the things that ached in his mind. He had tried everything to distract himself from the pain, but nothing worked. He was not a talented enough artist to distract himself by drawing, and even if he had been there was nothing to draw on or with. He had already read all of the books in the book case several times over, though none of them had been interesting. There wasn't even enough room to pace around in his cell.

"Woo!" Axel tried opening one of the dark portals, trying not to think about Roxas or Sora. Although he didn't need to talk to open them, he felt as though he was trying to do something if he made sound rather than just wave his arms in the air. Not surprisingly, nothing happened.

"Woo!" He tried again, imagining how good it would be to get away from Sora, that way he wouldn't have to think about Roxas anymore. Again, nothing happened.

"Woo!" He tried again, jumping back in amazement when a small portal opened up in front of him. He looked around the room. They had stopped having a guard watch him, he was all alone. He could easily leave, escaping from Sora and Roxas forever, but no. Now that it was actually an option, it was not what he wanted. He closed the portal, opening a new one and slipping inside of it.

Riku sat in his room, not bothering to turn the lights on. He knew that any minute now Sora would come up the stairs and go into his own room for the night. Before, he had always stopped in to see Riku before he went to bed, just a quick goodnight, nothing more nothing less, but it had always been there. He knew where Sora spent his time now, he spent it with the prisoner. He knew that much, but he could only imagine what else they did. There were no longer any guards down there, there hadn't been for the past week. Before at least he knew that they could only go so far due to the surveillance, but now there was nothing.

Even worse, he knew that it would not be much longer until Axel was free to go. They could only hold him until they were certain that the organization was a thing of the past. By now, it was obvious to everyone that the organization had been a thing of the past even before Riku and Sora put the final nail in the coffin by killing Xemnas. Riku's insistence that he was a danger was now the only thing keeping Axel in that cell, though he knew that even that would not last much longer.

"Even if he's in that cell, he is still dangerous!" Riku said out loud, certain that no one was around to hear him anyway. "Sora is still at risk, that asshole will stop at nothing!"

"Riku…" Sora's voice penetrated the darkness, making Riku jump. "Why are the lights off?"

"No reason. I wasn't expecting anyone so I didn't bother to turn them on." Riku explained, reaching over and turning on a light to make Sora happy. "You just get back from spending more time with Axel?"

"Yeah," Sora muttered, sitting down on the couch. He was glad that the light Riku had turned on was so dim, that way the slightly older boy couldn't see the blush rising to his face.

"I don't know why you spend so much time with him. If you think he cares about you, you are wrong." Riku tried to sound offhand about it, as though he really didn't care about the situation, as though he were not sweating, waiting for Sora's answer.

"He does care. Trust me, I'd know if he didn't." Sora insisted, getting a little irritated.

"Sora," Riku paused, trying to think of a nice way to say it, "You are very trusting, too trusting"

"He does care, you'll see!" Sora shot back, pulling away. He knew that Axel cared, how could he not? After how they had kissed, after all the talking they had done, the information that they had shared. He had to care, there was no other way.

**Well, that is chapter...five i think...anyway, there are a total of 11 chapters, so we are almost half way there, woo!**


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry that it is a week late, my mice both got really sick and I was certain that at least one of them was going to die. The good news is though that the mice are both alive and this chapter is up!

* * *

Sora ran down the stairs, all the way down into where the prisoners were held. He bumped into some people on the way down, but he didn't care. He had to get down there now. Riku couldn't possibly be right, Axel did care for him. He knew that he did. His hand was shaking as he opened the door, running to the bars as fast as he could. He pounded the button, opening the cell door, and ran in. He hit Axel at full force, knocking him onto his back, thankfully onto the bed. His arms wrapped around Axel's chest, his own chest heaved with exhaustion, and that damned heart kept beating faster and faster.

"What's wrong with you?" Axel asked, trying to regain his senses. He couldn't believe how lucky he had been to have gotten back to his cell before Sora came barreling in.

"Riku, he was such a jerk! He said that you didn't actually care about me, and I know that isn't true, right?" Sora asked, still clinging to Axel just as strong, waiting for an answer. Axel paused for a moment, figuring everything together in his head. After a moment, he patted Sora on the back, smiling as he did.

"Riku is an idiot. He thinks that he understands everything, but he doesn't understand anything. Why would you ever listen to him?" Axel positioned himself under Sora until they were fact to face, he lifted Sora's chin, moving their lips so close that they brushed against each other when they talked, "Now, how about I give you something that you want?"

Axel pushed his lips against Sora's, rolling over as he did. Now, on top, he could make sure that their chests didn't touch, that he couldn't feel that pounding of the heart. When they separated, Axel gazed down at Sora's face, that same face that he loved more than anything he had ever laid eyes on. Blue eyes looked back at him, the same blue eyes that had looked at him before. Axel lowered himself for another kiss, trying to remember Roxas and forget about Sora. It wouldn't matter, he told himself, in the end, It wont matter at all.

Sora squirmed, trying to wrap his arms around Axel's thin waist. He had no idea why his attitude had changed so much in such a short time, but he was not complaining. As Axel deepened the kiss though, he wondered if the change had been for the best. Before, Axel had been standoffish, now he was hungry, taking Sora for all he was worth. It scared Sora some, but he knew that Axel was only doing what he had asked him to on so many occasions.

Axel slipped his hand under Sora's shirt, feeling the lean muscle hidden by the thin fabric. It was so warm, as hot as the fire that Axel controlled, but so much more welcoming. Roxas had always been muscular, Axel had seen him without a shirt on a couple of times, sometimes without the nobody's knowledge. Now he got to feel those muscles, actually touch what he had admired from afar on so many occasions. His skin was softer than Axel had expected, smooth and creamy, making him want more all the time. Before long, he realized that he had removed Sora's shirt. He gazed down at the younger boy beneath him, using his hands to hide away that hideous brown hair. They were so much alike, there was no point in trying to separate them in his mind.

"Axel!" Sora moaned, trying to drag his attention back down to him. He reached up, touching Axel's face, drawing him back down. The nobody smiled and returned to his work, kissing Sora's neck, leaving a large mark above where any shirt could cover it. If Sora knew it was there, he suspected that he would get mad at him, but Axel wanted to send out a very clear signal that this boy was taken, that no one else could touch him.

Sora's heart pounded in his chest, he was with Axel. Finally Axel was kissing him, touching him. He had wanted nothing more, but it still scared him some. Even though he was scared, he wanted more. He wanted more of Axel, more of his kisses, more of his warmth, more of everything. His body shook in anticipation, shivering uncontrollably as he wrapped his arms around Axel, trying to lift up his shirt as well, but he just got his hands pushed away.

"No, I want to make you happy," Axel whispered in his ear, running two fingers down Roxas's chest, all the way down to his belt. He fingered the belt for a moment, waiting to see what Sora's reaction was. The boy looked terrified, but he nodded. Axel bit his lip, unsure of what to do. He wanted to forge ahead, rip Sora's pants off and have all the fun he wanted, but he didn't want to scare him. Still, Sora had nodded.

Axel carefully undid the belt, watching Sora's face as he did. The boy did not draw back, did not change his expression as Axel finished undoing the belt. He knew that Sora's pants had to be very painful by now, but he didn't want to remove them, he knew that Sora wasn't ready for that yet. His hands rested on the button, not undoing it. Sora looked up at him, looking ready to cry if he didn't do SOMETHING. It made Axel chuckle to see him like that, so desperate. He could tell that this was the first time Sora had been in this situation, and he was not handling it very well. Roxas would never have acted so desperate no matter how much his mind was clouded by lust.

With a quick flick of the wrist. Axel undid the button, killing the zipper in a single downward stroke. Sora was whimpering by this point, though Axle could not tell if it was from fear or need. Either way, he was about to give Sora what he had asked for. He still paused for a moment, making absolutely sure that Sora agreed to this. The younger boy lifted his hips, rubbing against Axel's hand, just the signal that Axel had been waiting for. His and dove in, quickly finding its way around the boxers.

"I still don't see why this is so urgent that I have to talk to him in the middle of the night," A voice said from the hallway leading to the cell. It was too far away to tell who it was, but it was coming closer.

"I just cant sleep until we do this," A second voice, quickly identified as Riku, said, even closer than the first.

"Shit!" Axel sprang off of Sora, throwing the boy's shirt to him and motioning for him to hurry. As Sora redressed, Axel grabbed a book and laid on his stomach, pretending to read it. He bit his lip, ignoring the pain, trying to get it to go away.

Sora had just finished pulling his shirt on by the time the door opened. Even though he had managed to get dressed in time, it was obvious what had been going on. His hair was springing up in more directions than normal, he was breathing heavy, there was the dark mark on his neck, and his little problem had not gone away.

The king and Riku stood there, looking them over. The king blushed, but decided to keep his mouth shut. He was not Sora or Axel's mother, he had no business in what they did together. Even if he did not approve, there was nothing that he could do. Riku also kept his mouth shut, scanning Sora's body. He crossed his arms, glaring at Axel now. The prisoner just looked back at him, a slight smile on his face. He did not want to even think about how far they had gone, or how far they would have gone if he and the king had not come in.

Sora blushed, looking like a kid who had gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Even if no one was mentioning it, he knew that they both saw right through him. They knew what he had been up to, they were just too polite to mention it. He almost wished that they would scream at him, tell him how stupid he was for doing this, but they didn't. He knew that that was what they were thinking, he just wished that they would go ahead and get it out, anything but this.

"Well, I guess we can interrogate him in the morning," Riku muttered to the king, trying to hide the sound of his heart breaking into little pieces. He couldn't hear what the king said, the world sounded like it was underwater, but Mickey started to leave the room. Riku stayed there a moment longer, not sure if he could walk without falling over. He looked at both Sora and Axel again, biting his lip. As soon as he had the strength, he spun around and marched out of the room, leaving the pair of lovebirds alone again.

"Axel…" Sora said, turning back towards the man on the bed. His entire body was shaking again, but this time for a different reason.

"No Sora, go to bed," Axel said quietly, not sure how to respond. All he knew was that they could not possibly do anything else tonight. Even if Sora wanted to, Axel could not force himself to. There was a big difference between Sora and Roxas, one that he had just been reminded of. Sora had someone else who loved him, someone who deserved him more than Axel did.

Sora nodded, walking out of the cell in a daze. He could not comprehend what had happened. His mind was buzzing with so many different emotions that he wasn't sure which ones were right anymore. He wandered through the halls, not paying attention to where he was going, the world just seemed numb. He heard a sound coming from one of the halls and decided to walk towards it. He turned the corner to see Riku sitting on a bench, legs drawn up around his chest, his face hidden by his hair.

"Riku…" Sora said, his voice sounded foreign to his ears, as if someone else were talking instead of him.

"Just go away, go back to Axel!" Riku hissed, standing up. His hair still covered his eyes, though Sora could see how angry his friend was, "Just leave me alone!"

Riku spun away from Sora, matching off. A droplet of water hit the floor as he turned, making Sora realize why he had kept his eyes covered. Sora reached up, touching his own cheek. He was surprised to find that he was also crying.


	8. Chapter 8

Over the next week, everyone was walking on eggshells, trying not to say the wrong thing. Riku had not talked to Sora since that night. Even when they were both in the same room, they might as well have been in two different worlds. Even when Sora had tried to apologize, Riku had ignored him. Sora wasn't doing much better when it came to Axel. He had gone back to being standoffish. Sora had tried to convince him that none of this was his fault, but nothing changed.

"Sora, please, now is not the time," Axel said, shrugging him off again. "Forget about seeing me, you need to go talk with Riku."

"He wont talk to me," Sora explained, climbing into Axel's lap. The larger man wrapped his arms around him, enjoying the feeling of holding Roxas's body. They stayed like that for some time, enjoying the warmth that the other gave off. Sora had learned that this was the most he could do with Axel without risking the older man pushing him away. He rested his head an Axel's chest, listening to the intense silence.

"Hey, from what the king said, I'm going to be out of here in another week or so," Axel said, forcing a smile to his face, "There is somewhere that I want to visit. I want to meet up with an old friend, and I want you to be there."

"Okay," Sora nodded, looking up at Axel with high expectations. "Where are we going."

"Well, it is a little place on a world that I don't think that you have been to yet. I haven't seen my friend in a long time, so I cant tell you what to expect when you see him, but I know that you will like him." Axel smiled more, shifting his weight under Sora. "Get up for a second,"

As soon as Sora stood up, Axel laid down on the bed, motioning for Sora to come with him. The younger boy laid down next to him, not able to keep from smiling as Axel wrapped his arms around his body, holding him closer than ever before.

"The ride there might be a little rough, but I can punch in the coordinates and let the ship do the work. And without the possibility of anyone walking in, we can have all the fun you want. Everything is up to you, your wish is my command," Axel whispered in his ear, allowing one of his hands to drift over Sora's pants. "And once we get there, you wont have to worry about a thing. It will be just you, me, and my friend. No one to tell us what we should and shouldn't do, no one to interrupt us."

"I cant wait until we go!" Sora squealed, enticed by the idea of having as much time with Axel as he wanted.

"You'll have so much fun," Axel promised, "In just one week…"

That night at dinner, the trip was all that Sora could talk about. Everyone thought that it was odd that Axel didn't tell him the friend's name, but Sora explained that it was a surprise, which most people accepted. The king warned him against it, mentioning that this friend could be a part of the organization, but Sora insisted that everyone in the organization was dead except for Axel, something that not even Riku could dispute.

"I agree with the king on this one," Riku said, the first words that he had said to Sora since that one night, "Even if he isn't with the organization, I don't think that meeting with this friend of his is a good idea."

"I want to do it though. Axel isn't as mean as you think he is, he is actually really nice!" Sora argued, "and he would never do anything to hurt me!"

"If you want to go so badly, how about we send someone else along, just incase. That way you get to go, plus you have someone there incase something goes bad," The king suggested, looking over at Riku as he talked, "Someone strong who can defend you."

"I'm strong enough," Sora noted, sending someone along with him would mean that half of the plans for the trip wouldn't work out, namely those plans for the alone time he would get to spend with Axel. "I'm stronger than anyone else here!"

"Yeah, but it is always better to have someone go as backup." Riku argued. "Even if you are strong, if something does go wrong, you would be badly outnumbered. You can easily defeat anyone, I've seen you fight, but if you are outnumbered, things are different."

Sora sat in his seat, thinking about it. If they did have to take someone, Riku would be the worst choice. He was the entire reason that Axel was so hesitant to do anything with Sora, he was worried about Riku walking in on them again, and this time they wouldn't be so well prepared. At least by thinking about the possibility it gave the impression that he was actually considering the idea.

"No, the gummi ship is too small for three people anyway," Sora lied.

"We rode in it with you!" Donald shot back, motioning to Goofy. "It is not too small for three people"

"Yeah, its alright for three of one of them is really small," Sora explained, "But Axel, and Riku are both big, and so am I. The three of us wouldn't fit in there comfortably."

"We can always do what we did last time," Riku smiled.

"NO! We are not putting Axel in the cargo hold!" Sora yelled back, making everyone laugh.

"I wasn't seriously suggesting it," Riku managed to say between bursts of laugher, "You are so funny when you get worked up about something.

They had similar conversations every night that week. Each time Riku would bring up some sort of complicated way that things could go wrong. Before Sora knew it, the week was up and it was only one night before they were to leave. That night, Axel made a strange request. He wanted Sora to go upstairs and send Riku down. He said that there was something that he needed to talk to him about. Although he did not understand, he did as he was told.

Riku walked down the stairs, heading to see Axel. He didn't know what to expect. An apology? A declaration of war? Maybe he was just going to rub it in his face that Sora had chosen him over Riku. Each of these possibilities played out in his mind, following a worst-case-scenario of whatever it was that Axel could possibly want to talk about. As he entered the room, he saw Axel sitting on his bed, looking down at the ground. Riku came up to the cell's bars, leaning on them. Axel motioned for him to come in. Despite his better judgment, Riku opened the cell door and walked inside.

"You love Sora," Axel said bluntly, looking up at Riku with no emotion.

"He doesn't love me" Riku said back, just as emotionless.

"Before he goes on this trip, tell him that. Tell him that you love him. Believe me, you will feel better afterwards." Axel's voice was cold, dead sounding. "I never told Roxas that I loved him, I have regretted that every day. It hurts more than you realize, I don't want you to have to know how it feels to wonder if things would have happened the way they did if you had just opened up."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Riku asked, thoroughly confused.

"The reason that Roxas left was because I told him that, since I was a nobody, I couldn't feel any emotion. I never told him how it felt like I had a heart when I was around him, that just seeing him smile meant more to me than any of the bullshit Xemnas said about getting our hearts back." Axel bit his lip, unsure if he should continue, "Just tell Sora that you love him before he leaves, that way you have nothing to regret."

"You cant tell me what to do," Riku sneered, turning to leave. He slammed the cell door shut, intent on never talking to Axel ever again.

* * *

Yes, it has been all of eternity since I updated this story, hasn't it? Probably all of the people who started reading it forgot about it, but just in the past few days a whole bunch of people started adding this story to updates lists and author alerts lists or whatever the hell they are calling them now. Long story short, I went "Hey! I remember that! I think I finished that story, I should probably post some more chapters!" 


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, everything was all prepared for the launch. Axel had been let out of his cell to get ready, since he was officially free. The first thing he did was take a shower, his first unsupervised shower in ages. He spent as much time as he wanted in there, not caring about how much hot water he used up. He also took Sora up on the offer of hair gel. When he came out, he was starting to feel like his old self again, he certainly looked more like it.

At his request, the three ladies who had made his clothes for him had made him a new outfit, similar to the one he had arrived in. He explained that he had always liked the Organization XII's uniform of the black cloak, even joking that the uniform was the entire reason he joined. Once he was safely wrapped up in the warm cloak, he put the hood up for good measure and opened up a dark portal. Everything was in place on this end, he just needed to be sure that everything was in place on the other end.

Sora ran through the castle, trying to get everything organized. He had already packed his suitcase three times, but each time he rethought his choices. He was worried that it would be too hot there, so he would repack his suitcase with cooler clothes. Then he would worry about the place being too cold, so he would repack with warmer clothes. He knew that he could simply ask Axel what to expect, but if he actually got his suitcase packed, he wouldn't have anything else to do to pass the time.

He had not learned much else about this trip, other than that he shouldn't make plans for a little while, Axel claimed that he didn't know just how long it would be until they got back. Apparently his friend was a master of tricking people into staying longer than they had expected, not that Sora minded. He had little to do now that Kari and Riku were back with him and his work at The World that Never Was had ended. If anything, an extra long vacation was just what he needed.

Everyone else in the castle had already grown used to the idea of Sora going on the trip, except for Riku. None of them liked it, but they had accepted that he was going whether they liked it or not, so they had all decided to drop the argument. Riku was the one last hold out, though Sora could not understand why. He simply assumed that it was because Riku and Axel had never gotten along. He convinced himself that if it had been anyone but Axel, Riku would have not only thought that the trip was a great idea, but he would be jealous that he couldn't go as well.

A firm knock on his door ended his thoughts. Axel stepped in holding a small brown paper bag. He handed it to Sora.

"I had the three witches or whatever they are make some clothes for you, special for this trip. I hoped that you would wear them on the way there." Axel explained, stepping closer to Sora and kissing the top of his head, "It feels like I have been waiting for this forever, it is hard to believe that it is here already."

"What sort of clothes should I pack for the trip?" Sora asked, realizing that now he only had one outfit out of the way.

"Um…" Axel paused for a moment as if he hadn't thought about that before, "I guess long pants and short sleeves. It is pretty nice there."

"Okay, thanks." Sora smiled, realizing that that was what he already had packed.

"I guess I'll get out of here then, let you get dressed. It isn't too much longer before we leave." Axel smiled, kissing him again before hurrying out o the room.

Sora opened up the bag and examined the clothes. Most everything was white and black, two colors that he knew that Axel hated. There was a black shirt with a zipper up the middle and no sleeves. The pants were black at the top but white over most of the legs, they seemed familiar from somewhere but he couldn't remember where he had seen them before. The jacket was the most interesting though, it was white with some stripes of white and black checks and a red collar.

They all fit perfectly, so he didn't have any complaints about that, but they did feel somewhat odd. It was almost as though he had worn them before, but he could not recall ever seeing them. He pushed it to the back of his mind, assuming that he had seen someone wandering around the castle wearing them before. It didn't matter though, they were a present from Axel, that was what counted.

As they all met on the launch pad, Axel was loading up the final touches to their cargo. Donald and Goofy both wished them luck. The king stood over in the corner, looking concerned but not saying anything. Riku stood in the shadows, biting his lip. Just as they were about to leave, he stepped forward and grabbed Sora's wrist.

"Sora! There is something I have to tell you…" Riku paused, unable to continue. He looked around the room. Everyone was looking at him, waiting to see what he said. Axel stood in the ship, knowing what Riku wanted to say. He nodded to Riku, urging him to continue.

"What is it?" Sora asked, his heart pounding.

"Um…I still don't like the idea of this trip." Riku blurted out, unable to finish what he had really wanted to say.

"Come on Sora," Axel came over and put his hand on Sora's shoulder, but his eyes never left Riku, "Its time to go."

Sora waved at everyone as he got on the gummi ship. Axel hit in some coordinates, not paying attention to the numbers he punched in. He knew that it would set a course to the closest world to those coordinates, enough to convince everyone that they were going to whatever world it may have been. Everyone waved as they took off, wishing them a fun trip and a safe trip. Riku though just stood there, looking up at them as the ship got smaller and smaller, disappearing into the nothingness around it.

"Get a second ship ready!" Riku shouted, "I don't care what they say, I'm going to follow them!"

"Riku, come on, you are being paranoid," Mikey said kindly, "Sora can handle himself, you have to trust him."

"Believe me, I trust Sora with my life, its Axel that I don't trust. Don't worry, I don't plan on making my presence known. I'm just going to follow them, make sure that nothing happens along the way. Once they get there, I'll come back here, I swear. I just have a bad feeling about this trip." Riku shifted his weight, looking around him. He could tell that everyone else was concerned as well, but none of them were willing to take such drastic measures.

"It will take at least an hour to get another ship ready," Chip explained.

Riku nodded, sending both Chip and Dale running around to get another ship ready as soon as possible. The king approached Riku, pulling him off to the side.

"I understand that you only want to protect Sora, but if he wants to be with Axel, you will just have to accept that. I'm not going to stop you from making this trip, but that's only because I'm concerned about him too. Sora is very trusting, sometimes too trusting for his own good."

On the gummi ship, Sora was bouncing around the room, waiting for the fun to start. To his surprise, Axel had not said a single word since they left the castle. He had expected him to jump on Sora, to act as hungry and needy as that one night, the night where they had gotten caught, but he hadn't. Axel hadn't done much of anything, it was starting to worry Sora.

"Hey, don't let what Riku said get to you, he is paranoid or something," Sora explained, putting his hand on Axel's

"No, Sora. He is right, you are too trusting." Axel said, looking up at Sora. Before Sora could do anything, Axel grabbed his throat, wrapping his hand tightly around Sora's windpipe. The younger boy tried everything to fight him off, but he was too distraught to even summon the keyblades. The edges of his world began to get darker, he knew that he was going to pass out.

"I'm sorry Sora, but this is the way it has to be," Axel said just as Sora's world became dark. A cold oblivion swept over him, the last thing he felt was his body hitting the cold floor.


	10. Chapter 10

"What the hell?" Riku looked at the ship on the monitor. It had taken a drastic turn from its set location and had started heading off in another direction, closer to the darkness. This world, although it was not as close to the darkness as The World that Never Was, was still very close. He had been to that world once during his travels and there was certainly nothing worth visiting there and no one lived there, that much he was sure of.

"Chip! Dale! How much longer until that ship is ready?" Riku called out, never looking away from that monitor.

"About fifteen more minutes, why?" Chip asked, poking out from some little crevasse that Riku had failed to notice.

"I think we have a problem," Riku explained, motioning Chip forwards. "Look at how much they changed their course just now, and worse yet, look where they are headed."

Chip's eyes got huge as he looked at the screen. H jumped off, shouting to everyone to hurry up, that they had to get the ship going as soon as possible, though he did not bother to explain why.

"I knew that I couldn't trust that asshole!" Riku bellowed, pounding on the machine.

When Sora came to he found himself sitting in a cage in the cargo hold of the ship. Before, Axel had told him that his friend had a large dog that he wanted Axel to take somewhere at the end of his stay. The dog was anything but nice so they needed the cage to transport him. Now he felt like an idiot for believing that story. There had been so many clues that something was not right, that Axel had lied to him, but he had overlooked them all. He had even forgotten that Axle had not sent out any letters, and thus had no way of even telling this friend that they were coming.

The ship shook, sending the cage from one wall to the other. Sora held on for dear life, screaming as he moved around the cargo hold. Finally the shaking ended and Sora realized that they had landed. The door to the cargo bay opened up and Axel appeared.

Axel did not look Sora in the eye, he couldn't bring himself to. The boy had trusted him so much, he had fallen into his trap so pathetically. Near the end, Axel had almost wished that Sora would see through him, realize that the trip was not a good idea, but that had been false hope. He had blinded Sora with things that the boy had never seen before, it was no wonder things had ended up the way they did. Now he had to go through with his plan.

A group of heartless appeared to carry the cage. Sora screamed at the top of his lungs, but Axel would not even look at him. There was hardly enough room in the cage for Sora to move even an inch, there was no way that he could summon the keyblades. He fought back, rocking himself from side to side, trying to throw the heartless off balance, but it was to no avail. It was over and he knew it.

"Ah, Axel, I see you that kept up your end of our bargain." An all too familiar voice said as they entered another room.

"Maleficent!" Sora yelled out, fighting even more.

"Now now boy, no need to struggle, you will meet your end either way. Heartless, bring him here!" Maleficent ordered, motioning to a table in front of her. "I think that it is almost funny how easily you trust people who used to be your enemy. I guess you wont be doing that much longer, now will you?"

She laughed, pulling her staff high in the air and casting a spell on Sora's body. He felt his arms and legs grow limp, but he was fully awake. The cage opened up and the heartless dragged him out of there, pulling him towards a machine that he had not been able to see before.

"You see that, boy? This machine will turn you back into a heartless, something that I am not usually able to do on my own. Once you are out of the way, I will be able to retain my former glory. All of Kingdom Hearts will be mine." Maleficent cackled, motioning for Axel to strap him in.

"I'm sorry Sora," Axel said quietly, standing by his side, hesitating,"But I had to do this."

"Why? What sort of hold does she have on you? You could have told us, we could have made her leave you alone!" Sora looked up into his eyes, pleading as Axel began to tighten the restraints one by one, making escape impossible.

"No, Sora, you have it all wrong," Axel looked away, not able to stand seeing Sora's face anymore. He began to hook the restraints, strapping Sora to the table. "I'm the one who contacted her."

"But why? What do you have to gain from me becoming a heartle..." Sora stopped, realization hitting him like a brick, "Roxas…"

"I'm sorry Sora," Axel said quietly, tightening the last restraint and stepping back to watch the process, "but I can't stand to be away from him anymore. I love him, I need him, I hope you can understand that."

Maleficent flipped the final switch, sending the machine into a frenzy of humming and grinding. Lights flashed, buttons lit up, and gears turned. Sora laid there, his arms and legs freed fromthe spell, but now he was trapped by those restraints. He twisted and turned, freighting all that he could as the machine warmed up, ready to separate his body and heart once more. The tight restraints cut into his skin, sending small trails of blood trickling down onto the table he was tied to.

"No, don't fight, don't hurt yourself," Axel warned him, trying to hold him still.

"Don't touch him, I don't know what this machine will do if someone is touching him." Maleficent warned. "I didn't create this machine, so I have no idea how to fix it if something goes wrong."

A loud sound came from the area right outside of the room, a ship landing. Everyone turned to look at Riku ran in the room, his keyblade out.

"Riku!" Sora shouted, so happy to see him. Now that Riku was here he was certain that he was no longer in any danger.

"You certainly put up a valiant effort getting here so quickly," Maleficent smirked, waving her staff again, sending up a wall of green flame separating Riku from where they stood, "It is really a pity that you are so useless. And now you can watch as your precious Sora's life gets drained away, turning him into a mindless shadow heartless!"

Riku fought against the wall, pounding it with his keyblade, but he only got knocked back. "Axel!" He shouted, "You asshole!"

"I did what I had to do," Axel said, emotionless. "I need Roxas."

"You don't need him, you just want him you selfish asshole!" Riku screamed, attacking him verbally since he could not do anything physically, "All you care about is yourself, you never cared about Sora or anyone else in your life. It has always just been you. You, you, you, you, you!"

"Shut up!" Axel screamed back at him, sending fire towards the wall. It hit the green flame and dissipated, much like Riku's attacks. "You aren't any better! You took Roxas away from me to get Sora back, how is what I'm doing any different?"

"Sora was the original! That's why!" Riku argued, pounding against the wall with all of his might.

"Yeah, and dipshit got himself turned into a heartless, he lost out, end of story! He should have died right then and there, but he didn't. Both he and Roxas were alive and well until you came along." Axel's voice strained, he tried to scream louder, but his voice could only handle so much torment. "There is nothing that you can do now, so just get over it! I'm setting things back to the way they should have been all along!"


	11. Chapter 11

"AHHHHH!!!!" Sora screamed as the machine finally began to take effect. His entire body went into convulsions, the restraints cut deeper into his skin. Tears dripped uncontrollably from his eyes.

"You said that it wouldn't hurt him!" Axel yelled to Malificent, not taking his eyes off of Sora's body.

"So I lied, you will still get Roxas back, what does it matter if Sora gets hurt in the process? After all, this is going to kill him." Maleficent smiled, watching Riku for the reaction.

"Axel!" A second voice yelled behind Sora's screams, "Axel! Help!"

Axel froze as the voice cut through the very core of his being. He could handle Sora's screams, but this was something all together different. Roxas screamed for him, begged him to end the pain. His screams got louder, overpowering Sora's.

"Roxas!" Axel yelled, happy to hear that sweet voice but unable to enjoy it, "There has to be another way to do this!"

"It always hurts when you rip a person in two" Maleficent laughed, surveying her work.

"Axel! Please, help me!" Roxas screamed louder now. "It hurts, Axel, please! Make it stop!"

The boy thrashed around, ripping at the restraints, each movement cutting into his wrists and ankles. No matter how much he moved, he could never get free. He cried out, begging for help, and Axel stood there, watching the one he loved more than his own wretched existence suffer. He tried to tell himself that it was for his own good, that without this, Roxas would never be able to exist again.

Axel looked back and forth between the other three people in the room. Riku glared at him, his eyes trying to bore holes in Axel's body for what he had done. Maleficent stood in the middle, staff in hand, cackling and enjoying the screams coming from both Roxas and Sora. And on the table laid the most pitiful thing he had ever seen. There were two bodies now, one slightly above the other. Sora's hair had started to get lighter now, and shorter as well. Above him, a small dark blob was beginning to form, a heartless. This was what he wanted. He wanted Sora to die so that he could have his Roxas back, that was all that mattered to him. He just wanted Roxas, and he wanted Roxas to be happy.

"AXEL!!!!!" Roxas screamed from the table, "HELP!"

Without a moment's thought, Axel summoned his weapons and began attacking Maleficent. This was not what he wanted. Yes, he wanted Roxas, but he couldn't stand to cause the man he loved any pain. The witch fought back, but Axel's determination to end it quickly overpowered her, causing her to lose control on her spells. The wall separating Riku from the rest of the action faded away.

As soon as he could break through it, Riku ran for the machine, flipping whatever switches he could find until one of them did the trick. He randomly punched in buttons, trying to find the magic combination to stop the machine from splitting Sora apart. Twin screams tore through the air as each press of a button seemed to make things worse instead of better.

Behind him, Axel continued to fight the witch, not allowing her a moment's rest to summon her magic. Even though she was so close to the darkness, she was not able to call the heartless to her, he did not allow her time even for that. He swung at her blindly, missing by inches each time. He had cut her robe, but her flesh remained intact. As a last ditch effort, Maleficent used her staff to block one of Axel's attacks, falling to the ground in horror as the stick snapped in half like a twig.

"Axel!" A voice called out from the opposite side of the room. Axel glanced over, seeing Riku standing by the machine, which was no longer making noise. Sora and Roxas's screams were no longer heard, they were safe, or perhaps dead. By the time he turned back to face Maleficent, he only saw the very last part of a dark portal closing, she had chosen to run.

Axel dropped his weapons, running over to the table. Sora was still laying on it, but he wasn't moving. Roxas was also there, but at the same time, he wasn't. Axel picked him up, flinching at how transparent Roxas was, how he was not fully formed. He held Roxas to his chest, watching as small parts of him began to fade.

"Ax…el…" Roxas whispered, opening his eyes.

"Yeah, its me," Axel assured him, tears running down his cheeks. "Roxas, I'm so sorry, I just couldn't stand to be without you. When you left, I didn't know what to do, I thought that it was Xemnas's fault, so I betrayed the organization. Roxas, please don't leave me again!"

"Axel, I don't have much time left," Roxas warned, looking up into Axel's eyes.

On the opposite side of the table, Riku held Sora close, begging for him to wake up. The small wisps that came from Roxas's body were flowing into Sora's chest, making him whole again. Axel looked down at Roxas, he knew just how little time he had.

"Roxas, I just want you to know, all this time, even if I acted like a complete asshole, I love you."

"I know you do, I always knew," Roxas laughed, reaching one hand up to touch Axel's cheek, "And I love you too, I always have."

Roxas put an arm behind Axel's head, lifting himself closer to the nobody. Just as their lips were about to meet, Roxas disappeared, leaving Axel holding nothing but air. He just looked down at his empty arms, trying to understand what had just happened, that Roxas was now part of Sora again.

Sora opened his eyes slowly, surprised to find Riku leaning over him. He launched himself upwards, throwing his arms around Riku's neck and holding on as tight as he could. His muscles were still weak, and dribbles of blood still flowed down his arms, but he didn't seem to notice. Riku held Sora close, kissing him on the cheek, too afraid to do anything else.

"I thought I had lost you, I was so scared." Ruki cupped Sora's face in his hand, "I should have told you sooner, I love you."

Sora reached one hand behind Riku's head, pulling him down into a chaste kiss, his body still ached with pain and he was unable to do anything else. He felt so happy, like he had found something that he didn't know he had lost. Feeling Riku's warm arms around him, he never wanted to leave. Everything else in the world seemed to slip away, nothing else mattered, until something caught his attention.

A bit of movement caught Sora's eye, making him look over his shoulder. Axel was sitting on the floor, arms still held out in front of him as if there was someone there, his eyes fixed on the spot where Roxas had been only a moment before. His head was bowed, and his entire body trembled. No matter how pathetic he looked, something in Sora was afraid of him. He wrapped his arms tighter around Riku's shoulders, pulling them closer together.

"Come on, lets get you back to the ship." Riku said quietly, standing up with Sora in his arms. He carried him back to the gummi ship and sat him down in a chair, instructing him to just relax, he'd be back soon. As he left the ship, he looked back where he had come from, that room where Sora had almost lost his life. He knew that he had to go back in there, there was something that he had to do. He had to make sure that this never happened again.


	12. Chapter 12

When Riku entered the room, Axel was still where he had been when he had left, still cradling the air where Roxas had been. There was something about him, the way he sat there, that made Riku wonder. Would he have done the same thing if it had been Sora? He could hardly believe that he was asking himself that, he already knew that the answer was yes. He had done the same thing, he had hunted down Roxas to bring Sora's memories back. True, Sora was the original, so he was just setting things straight, but he knew that Axel would never see it that way.

"I spent all of this time searching for a heart," Axel said with a slight chuckle as Riku got close, "But now I don't want it."

Axel lifted his head, looking into Riku's eyes. Tears streamed down his cheeks, he looked as fragile as glass, like one little tap could shatter him into a million pieces. Riku froze in his tracks, unable to take another step forward.

"What good is a heart when it makes you feel like this?" He asked, standing up and towering over Riku, "Why would anyone want to feel this? To go through all of this pain?"

"Because with a heart, you can also love." Riku kept his eyes on the floor, he couldn't look at him, not like this. "And that can be the greatest strength a person can have."

"Lot of good that does," Axel growled, turning around and storming off in the opposite direction. After only walking a few feet, he spun around, marching straight towards Riku, "You get five minutes of happiness, thinking that you finally found the one thing that makes life worth the while, and then you blink and its gone. Then you're stuck with a life time of pain!"

Axel fell back to his knees, cupping his face in his hands, "He was right here. I had him, I held him. He told me that he loved me! He said he loved me, he loved me, but none of that matters now. He's gone."

"There's nothing I can do about Roxas," Riku admitted, stepping closer to the crying nobody, "But I have to take you back. You'll get a life sentence for what you did to Sora, or what you almost did, but I might be able to help you."

"How's that?" Axel scoffed.

"You'll see." Riku smirked, "Now come with me."

"Axel, come on, you have to wake up!" a nagging, yet admittedly cheerful voice called, waking Axel from a good nights rest. Axel opened his eyes to see a familiar blonde boy sitting on top of his chest, the early morning light accenting the soft curves of his face.

"Roxas, its too early to wake up, go back to sleep!" He grumbled, reaching up and pulling the smaller boy off of him and back under the covers. He couldn't help but smile as he felt that familiar warmth wrapping around his body. He leaned over and kissed the back of his neck, sending shivers down the smaller boy's spine.

"Hey, stop that!" Roxas giggled, turning around to face Axel.

"I love you so much," Axel murmured, pulling Roxas into a warm kiss. He felt Roxas kiss him back, pinning him to the bed as they enjoyed themselves. When they separated Axel's body went limp, happy to have his lover sitting on top of him now.

"I love you too," Roxas smiled back, "But it is time to get up. We promised Sora and Riku that we'd meet them at the beach today, remember?"

"A chance to see you running around shirtless?" Axel chuckled, "Like I'd ever forget that! But before we go, just let me hold you for a while."

"Why?" Roxas asked as he snuggled into his lover's embrace.

"I don't know, I can't explain it, but it just feels like its been a very long time since I've gotten to hold you."

"And your sure that he'll never know the difference?" Riku asked, looking down at the jumbled mess of wires and computer screens. Axel laid in the middle of it, his body surrounded by sensors.

"It will be just as real to him as this room is to you," The technician promised.

Riku looked down at that frail body. He had been hooked up only a few minutes now, but all of the read outs were stable. He was suspended in a dream world, just like the one that Roxas had been kept in. It mirrored reality, except with a few improvements. In this world there were no heartless, no nobodies. Sora and Roxas were completely different people, Axel would never have to chose one life over another. He would live out his days with Roxas at his side, just like he had always hoped.

"Is he happy?" Sora asked, startling Riku.

"Yes," Riku said, reaching out and taking Sora's hand in his own. He leaned in and kissed his forehead, smiling as he looked down at his lover. "He'll be happy now, and so will we."


End file.
